This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
The Peltier effect is an effect in which a heat flux is created between the junction of two different types of materials. Thermoelectric modules (TEMs) are semiconductor devices which use the Peltier effect to transfer heat from one side of the TEM (the “cold side”) to the other side of the TEM (the “hot side”). The TEM, a solid-state Peltier device, effectively acts as a heat pump upon the application of a DC power source to the TEM. Heat is moved through the TEM, from one side to the other, with consumption of electrical energy, depending on the direction of the current. Such an instrument may also be called a Peltier cooler or heater, a thermoelectric heat pump, a Peltier heat pump, a solid state refrigerator, a thermoelectric cooler (TEC), or a thermoelectric module (TEM). TEMs can be used either for heating or for cooling (refrigeration), although in practice the main application is cooling.
Thermoelectric assemblies (TEAs) often include a pair of fan sinks that face outwardly in opposite directions and meet at one or more TEMs at their bases. As can be seen in FIGS. 1A & 1B, which represent an example of the prior art, a TEA may comprise a cold side fan sink, a hot side fan sink, and a plurality of TEMs disposed between the fan sinks. A cold side fan sink typically includes a fan mounted on a heat sink, often through the use of a fan housing over the heat sink fins. The TEA may also include a gasket, often made of a foam, that surrounds the TEMs that are in contact with the base of the cold side heat sink. The TEMs are typically arranged in one or more parallel circuits. A hot side fan sink is analogous to the cold side fan sink, and the two fan sinks are both in thermal contact with the TEMs and the gasket at the heat sink bases.